Liberals use Newton killings to push gun control agenda

In the wake of a tragedy, there is always a call from some politicians to “do something.” Our country is witnessing the same sort of reaction to the Newtown, Connecticut school massacre. Ever since the murder of 27 people on Friday by 20 year old Adam Lanza, liberals across the country have been calling for more gun control.

It is despicable that liberals like Michael Moore and New York Senator Chuck Schumer are trying to take political advantage from a true tragedy. Sadly, Democrats such as California Senator Dianne Feinstein have no shame and are already promising to introduce a bill to restrict the right of Americans to purchase assault weapons.

The assault weapons ban ended in 2004 and gun control advocates have been working ever since to reestablish the law. In his killing spree, Lanza used a semiautomatic Bushmaster .223 rifle, the type of weapon that Feinstein wants to ban. Lanza should be blamed for his cold blooded murders, not law abiding Americans who own semiautomatic weapons. He alone should be blamed for his acts of terrors, not the instrument he used to commit the crime.

This logic applies not only to gun crimes, but to other tragedies as well. For example, drunk drivers should be blamed for killing innocent motorists, not the cars they drive. The terrorists who killed almost 3,000 people on 9/11 should be blamed for their actions, not the planes they hijacked to destroy the buildings.

Guns can be used for a variety of lawful purposes, including hunting and target practice at the range, but the most important reason for Americans to own guns is for protection. Millions of Americans buy guns for self-protection against criminals, but they can also be used to protect Americans against the actions of an out of control government. Tyrannical governments throughout history, such as Nazi Germany, North Korea and Cuba have suppressed their citizenry by removing guns from their people.

In the United States, we cannot allow any diminution of our Second Amendment right to bear arms. It was placed in the U.S. Constitution for very important reasons and should not be abridged by well-meaning liberals who claim that Americans do not “need assault weapons. ”It is not for the government to tell us what kind of car we can drive, what kind of clothes we can wear or what type of weapon we can purchase, as long as we are not harming others.

In the future, if we want to combat these types of mass murders, we should not restrict the gun rights of Americans. In fact, we should encourage more Americans to buy guns, become properly trained to use them and apply for a permit to carry a concealed weapon. As Texas Governor Rick Perry said “you should be able to carry your handgun anywhere in this state." In fact, Perry believes that teachers should have "access to weapons in their school," which makes perfect sense. Mass murderers tend to focus on areas that are gun free zones, such as movie theaters and schools. If an armed guard or teacher had been present at Sandy Hook Elementary, Adam Lanza might have been prevented from killing so many innocent adults and children.

In reality, the best way to stop more of these types of horrific incidents is for there to be more properly trained gun owners in America.

As usual, if they succeed liberals will only make the problem worse. We just have to examine the record in Australia when strict gun control legislation was passed. Instead of lowering the crime rate, the opposite occurred with a massive expansion of crime.

The worst scenario in America would be for criminals, gangs and drug cartels, who will ignore any gun legislation, to have weapons and for law abiding Americans to be unarmed.

-- Jeff Crouere is a native of New Orleans, LA and he is the host of a Louisiana based program, “Ringside Politics,” which airs at 7:30 p.m. Fri. and 10:00 p.m. Sun. on WLAE-TV 32, a PBS station, and 7 till 11 a.m.weekdays on WGSO 990 AM in New Orleans and the Northshore. For more information, visit his web site at www.ringsidepolitics.com. E-mail him at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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Jeff Crouere is a native of New Orleans, LA and he is the host of a Louisiana based program, “Ringside Politics,” which airs at 7:30 p.m. Fri. and 10:00 p.m. Sun. on WLAE-TV 32, a PBS station, and 7 till 11 a.m.weekdays on WGSO 990 AM in New Orleans and the Northshore. For more information, visit his web site at Ringside Politics.